Pokemon Go: 6 things to know

Pokemon Go has become a phenomenon and it is no exaggeration. Within a week of its launch, the game, which is just Nintendo’s second foray in mobile gaming, has already become the most talked about app in recent times. It has been a financial windfall for Nintendo and well received by users. Business owners and advertisers are excited about the possibilities it opens up, especially with its successful use of technology like augmented reality.

So what is this game that has taken the world by storm, even though it is yet to be released around the world?

Here are six essential things to know about Pokemon Go:

* Pokemon Go started off as a joke, quite literally. In 2014, Google asked users to apply for the role of Pokemon Master by capturing Pokemon in the real world using their phones camera and Google Maps. The catch (pun not intended) was that this was just an April Fool’s joke. However, the idea caught on.

* Pokemon Go was co-developed by Niantic and The Pokemon Company. Niantic was spun off from Google last year and Nintendo has a stake in the company. Both Google and Nintendo also have a stake in The Pokemon Company.

* One of the early investors in Ninatic is David Jones, the former CEO of Havas and Founder of You & Mr Jones.

* Within a couple of days of its launch, Pokemon Go already had more android users than Tinder in the US and, just recently, it also surpassed Twitter in terms of daily active users in the US.

* Apart from the unprecedented popularity, Pokemon Go has also been a huge financial success for Nintendo since its launch with the company reporting a 53 per cent rise in stock value leading to around $7.5 billion in market value gain.

* This is remarkable since Pokemon Go is just Nintendo’s second mobile game after the launch of Miitomo in March this year. Nintendo has been notoriously anti-mobile in the past, firmly believing that the future of gaming was the console but changing market dynamics and the success of Pokemon Go would surely remove any remaining doubts about this platform.